


What if Things Were Different?

by Mayumi_chan



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blunt!Armin, Bold!Bertolt, Calm!Connie, Calm!Sasha, Cocky!Armin, Cocky!Marco, Delinquent!Armin, Delinquent!Erwin, Delinquent!Levi, Delinquent!Marco, F/M, Flipped Personalities, Geeky!Jean, I Don't Even Know, I Promise It's Worth Reading, I Repeat I'm Bad At Tagging, I hope, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Loud!Annie, Loud!Krista, Messy!Levi, My First Fanfic, Oops, Other, Parallel Universes, Please Don't Hate Me, Please Give It a Chance!!, Rude!Erwin, Rude!Marco, Serious!Hanji, Shy!Eren, Shy!Reiner, Shy!Ymir, Silly!Levi, Sorry Not Sorry, There's a little angst in the second chapter, This became more intense than I intended, Weak!Eren, Weak!Jean, Weak!Mikasa, bare with me, shy!jean, this was supposed to be a oneshot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2014-08-08
Packaged: 2018-02-10 18:20:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2035248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayumi_chan/pseuds/Mayumi_chan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a modern AU for the Shingeki no Kyojin characters. It has really the same cliques, but with flipped personalities. Everyone's personality is opposite to their actual ones(basically). - Eren Jaegar is weak and can't stick up for himself. He rarely gets angry and tries to keep a calm outlook on things, unlike his best friend Armin. Armin Arlert, loud, rude, always getting into fights, doesn't like following rules, he's your typical delinquent. Another delinquent is their friend Marco Bodt. Him and Armin fight and argue now and then but are great friends. Jean Kirschtein, your average dork. He's cool but not cool, and wears glasses and has an average intelligence. Then there's the shy girl of the group, MIkasa Ackerman. She's Armin and Eren's childhood friend. She's quiet and sweet and Jean is head over heels for her (which, I might add, Eren is not pleased with.) Then there's Levi's group. Let me just say that Armin and Marco don't get along with Levi and Erwin. They're always fighting, but when Levi suddenly wants to be Eren's friend, how will the others take it? Will Eren be able to bring together his new friends and old friends? Can he learn to be confident? Can he get over his childhood trauma?</p>
            </blockquote>





	What if Things Were Different?

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first fanfic, hehe. I wanted my first one to be in the actual setting, but then this idea hit me and... Yeah. I hope you guys like it. Obviously everyone is OOC. I wanted to add Petra but decided against it just because I didn't know what to do for her (although she'll probably appear a couple of times, nothing major though). She appears a bit more in the second chapter, though. Please give me any criticism you feel necessary and what I need to work on. I hope you can enjoy this, I really tried!! Thanks for taking the time to read it \\(^o^)/

* * *

Eren Jeagar, Mikasa Ackerman, and Armin Arlert were walking to school. Armin with his usual confident stride, a smirk playing on his lips just because, and his eyes saying "don't mess with me", with  his  blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Eren, as usual, was close behind him his hands in his pockets, looking around every now and then nervously, wondering if anyone Armin didn't like was around. He hates when Armin gets into fights, and it usually happens because Eren is too weak to defend himself. Mikasa is the weakest of the three, not to mention a scaredy-cat. She looks to the two boys to defend and protect her. But she may be weak, but she's also very beautiful, her long black hair and quiet atmosphere catching the attention of many boys. Which is usually when Armin has to step in and get them all to scram.

On their way to school they bump into Jean Kirschtein and Marco Bodt. Jean is a geeky guy with glasses that fall down his nose a lot, causing the ashy blonde boy to push them up all the time. It drives Eren up the wall, but of course he's not going to say anything. Jean isn't that strong but he could probably take on Eren, but he's also pretty shy. Then there's Marco, a whole different story. Marco is about as cocky as Armin, and likes to challenge Armin to fights a lot. Eren hopes that they won't this morning, because he just wants to get to school already. Hopefully they'll just keep walking and no contact will be made.

Of course, the universe isn't that nice.

"Well looky here. What's up, Arlert?" Marco grinned at him. It's not like Marco and Armin aren't friends. They are. But they still didn't always see eye-to-eye. As in "I'm stronger and I'll prove it". Armin's smirk only turning into the same grin that Marco held, crossed his arms over his chest, and met the eyes of the taller, freckled boy.

"Nice to see you Marco." Armin smiled innocently. Eren gave a worried look to Mikasa. At first glance, you'd suspect Armin to be the sweetest angel, but you'd realize you're wrong as soon as he gets angered. He's like a rampaging demon. He usually has good intentions though... Usually.

"Armin, please don't argue this morning." Eren said in a worried tone. "We're going to be late for school, you know." Armin gave him the most innocent smile and said, "Who's arguing? I'm just having a nice conversation with my good friend, Marco~" And Eren could feel a chill go up his spine. The fact that Armin looked so sweet just made him scarier sometimes.

Jean tugged at Marco's sleeve, and Marco said his goodbye and left with Jean. Eren sighed with relief, and Mikasa let go of his sleeve which she was gripping tightly. She really can't handle being around fights or arguments because she gets nervous easily. Jean seemed to have a huge crush on her, his face flushing at the sight of her and he stumbles over his words. Eren didn't like Jean, even he doesn't voice it, it's obvious the two would argue and fight a lot if they weren't so shy... And weak. Eren and Mikasa aren't related, but he still thinks of her as a sister, so he tries his best to keep her away from Jean. Armin didn't mind Jean, he thought he was a pretty cool guy if you get over his awkward and geeky personality. 

There were many kids at Trost High School. Some were well behaved like top of the class Sasha Brouse and Connie Springer, sophomores. And bookworms who usually kept to them self besides when with friends, Hanji Zoe a senior. Then there are people like Levi Rivaille, a delinquent in his senior year. He's pretty messy sometimes. Actually, most of the time. Sticking gum under his desk, spilling drinks and dropping food, leaving a mess of crumpled papers and broken pencils. Always cracking jokes and disrespecting the teachers and breaking every rule possible. He talks to Armin a lot. Like in detention. They almost always start fights with each other, and since Eren isn't there to restrain Armin, it gets out of hand a lot. That's when Connie (class president) and Sasha (vice president) step in and break it up. They pull the two apart and separate them. Usually a Saturday detention is involved.

Connie and Sasha have always been friends because of their similar interests, one being food, the other being education. They obviously liked each other, and they were obviously going on despite how much they denied it. They were not subtle in the slightest. They're very serious and in some classes are like the class pets. They both do everything they can to keep classes in check and hallways in order, so on and so forth.

Eren and Mikasa are always scolding Armin, and Hanji usually talks to Levi. And there is another person who hangs out with Levi and Hanji, another senior named Erwin Smith. He's not violent or anything like Levi, but he's incredibly rude. He's always talking big because of his height and strength. He doesn't usually fight at school, but outside Levi and Erwin usually team up. A lot of the time against Armin and Marco. Eren, Jean, Mikasa, and Hanji really can't stop them when they get serious so they usually just watch (Mikasa is usally buried in Eren's chest, making Jean jealous) and when it gets too out of hand, they can finally step in. Hanji is stronger than them, so usually she's the one to finally pull them apart before they can kill each other.

Then there's Krista Lenz and Ymir, sophomores. They're best friends, always have been. Although Ymir seems to have a lot to say, she never says it because she's too shy. She's too shy to speak her mind about anything. Krista on the other hand is loud and blunt, but she tries to sugarcoat it... Sometimes. She's super cute and a lot of guys crush on her, but she's kind of dense and doesn't notice. She's really funny and adorable, everybody loves her.

Then there's another group of three, Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, and Annie Leonhart, all in their junior year. Reiner is very shy, despite his large and strong appearance. He looks like he'd be really loud, but he's usually really quiet. He's got an average intelligence and he's really strong, but he's not interested in joining sports. Bertolt is tall and strong, and he's very bold. Bold as in blunt. More than Krista. If he likes you he'll tell you, if he's crushing on you, he'll tell you, if he hates you and wants to gut you like a fish, he'll tell you. Which is exactly what he told Erwin when he made a remark about how he's all talk and brainless.

He's been crushing on Annie for quite a while now, but she still hasn't rejected or accepted him. She just says "okay" every time, basically. She's really loud. She always cracks jokes and laughs too hard at them, or laughs too hard at other people's jokes. Some people think she likes Eren, others think she likes Bertolt, and a few thinks she's got her eyes set on Reiner. Really, she tries not to think about boys since it's a troublesome subject. Although, she seems to secretly return the feelings of Bertolt.

* * *

In class, Eren and Jean have to sit next to each other. Sometimes they'll shoot looks at each other, but nobody has ever heard them say their obvious hatred for each other. Not even a single insult or "shut up". And as usual Armin is making an unnecessary argument out of Connie correcting his behavior.

"Whaddya' mean I'm too disruptive?" Armin snaps at Connie. "I wouldn't be talking right now if you didn't tell me to stop talking— Which I wasn't, by the way."

"All I said was to quiet down, you're turning this into an argument that's not necessary." Connie says, keeping his cool as usual. Armin gave him an apologetic smile and said, "Well gee, prez, I'm sorry for disrupting everyone!" then he grinned mockingly, "Oh, wait, no I'm not." Connie frowned at him. He sighed and decided not to continue the argument. Armin smiled and propped his feet up on the desk. Mr. Auruo gave him a disapproving look, but said nothing. Eren sighed. "I wish he'd behave sometimes." he muttered under his breath. Jean nodded, agreeing with Eren.  _At least Marco behaves in class_. Jean thought smugly. At least his best friend knew how to keep a level head and not get detentions all the time.

By the time class ended, Armin managed to not get a detention, much to Eren's relief. As the trio of friends made their way down the hall, they were met with three seniors, much to Eren's worry. Erwin, Hanji, and Levi looked at them. Eren liked Hanji, she was a smart and kept in girl who knew where she stood, and Eren admired that. Then, there Erwin and Levi. Their grins set off a mine in Armin, who's expression immediately hardened with pure hatred for the older boys. The thing is, unlike Armin, Marco, and Jean— Eren didn't hate them. If anything he looked up to them in a way. Yeah, they behave badly and have injured his best friend on many occasions, but that's just how things worked with them. Plus it happens vice versa. If you put it in a positive light, they're strong and can speak their minds, and Eren couldn't help but be jealous of that. That's because Eren would never be able to speak his mind so openly because he's too shy and overall pretty weak. MIkasa is just plain afraid of the boys.

"Aw, what's with that look Armin~?" Levi asked with a smirk. "Not happy to see me?"

"Who'd be happy to see your ugly face?" Armin snapped instantly. Even though Armin says that, everyone knows Levi is a sight to see, boy or girl. Armin knows it too. Levi Rivaille, with his jet black hair and his silver eyes that had a certain shine to them. He was fond among a good portion of the school's girls (and probably a couple guys), but especially Petra Ral, (not the nicest but she's not hated either), who's very beautiful and some people think they're secretly going out with each other due to how often they hang out. If he weren't such a pig and an idiot he might be a decent boyfriend, is what people say.

"You're probably just wish you looked as manly and good as me," he laughed loudly. "For someone as 'tough' as you, you look like a girl."

"Your stupid ponytail doesn't help either." Erwin piped up. Armin glared at them. He hated being told he looked like a girl, he really hated it. Being called cute or pretty or girlish is a mistake one doesn't want to take. Armin growled a bit and began pulling back his fist, about to approach the older but shorter boy, who spread his arms wide sayinf 'come at me'. Eren saw this and grabbed his sleeve.

"Armin, come on, we have to get to our next class." Eren said. "Please, let's go. Mikasa wants to go too." Armin stopped, and slowly lowered his arm. Like Eren, Armin thought of Mikasa as a younger sister, and doesn't like seeing her sad or worried- Even though he knows he causes that a lot. He clicked his tongue and looked at Levi and his little crew.

"We'll settle this another time." he said, obviously reluctant.

"What, your boyfriend says 'no' so you instantly back out?" Erwin comments. "You're lamer than I thought."

"Okay, that's it!" Armin lunged towards the other boy. "Armi—" Eren started to call after him, but Armin was soon pulled back by the collar of his shirt, nearly choking him. Armin stumbles backwards a bit, he goes to glare at whoever oulled him, to be met with the face of Marco, and that glare almost instantly turned into a look of confusion. "Marco?" Eren said, looking at him, questioningly. Well this was strange. Usually if Marco is around he jumps at the chance to help Armin when fighting Levi.

"Ah, sorry Levi, but this guy's gotta get to his class. Causing a commotion in the middle of the hall is troublesome, you know?" he smiled. Another thing, Marco looked so kind, but his angry face could put you in a cold sweat. That was also frightening. "Come on, Armin." he dragged the protesting boy away, Mikasa followed them, tugging her signature red scarf over her mouth. Eren was a little slow to follow. He smiled apologetically at Levi and Erwin and Hanji, giving a small nod, and was about to turn to follow his friend heading towards Jean, when Levi called out to him.

"Hey, brat." Eren froze in place. What could Levi possibly want to tell him? He's always ignored Eren, always! Eren could feel himself starting to panic. He took a deep breath, telling himself it's nothing and he'll be fine. He turned around with the best smile he could pull.

"Y-yes, Levi?"  _Crap I stuttered!_ Eren thought, cursing himself. Levi obviously noticed him stutter, and smirked at him.

"Why din't you hate us or fear us like your friends do?" he asked. The question shocked Eren. He noticed? When? How? When did he bother to pay any sort of attention to Eren? He stood there, his mouth open slightly, not knowing what to say. Levi just grinned. "Tell me whenever, but it's been bugging me for a while now. He laughed and left upstairs with his friends to go to his class. Eren only stood there for a moment, then hurried to catch up with his friends, shaking his head kind of dazed.

"What took you so long?" Jean asked, slightly irritated as Eren rounded the corner.

"Nothing..." Eren said. "Nothing at all."

* * *

The day ended and Eren left to go home, telling Mikasa and Armin he promised his mom he'd come early to help with dinner. As Eren walked to his house, he felt like he was being watched. Not really followed, just watched. He stopped and looked behind him, only to see Levi Rivaille about 25 feet away. Eren nearly jumped out of his skin. Levi jogged over to him, his grin never leaving his face.

"So," he started, "Why don'cha tell me now?"

* * *

"You know..." Eren started. "It's kind of rude to just invite yourself to my house." Levi laughed boisterously. "And also, didn't you say 'tell me whenever'?"

"I got impatient." Levi shrugged, grinning still.

"It's been about 2 hours." Eren stated.

"That's a long time, you know?" he laughed again, and Eren sighed. _Why did I even let him in my house?_ he thought.  _Oh yeah, cause he's strong and could force himself in anyways._

"So?" Levi urged. "Explain to me why you aren't scared of or hateful of me." Eren figured he might as well say it, since he was here.

"Well, it's not exactly that I'm not scared, but I defiantly don't hate you guys..." Eren started, kind of quietly. "Then what?" Levi pressed. Eren sighed. "Please be a bit more patient. I didn't expect this, okay?" he looked at Levi's silver eyes. "You usually ignore me."

"Like I said I've been wondering for a while now." Levi said. "Now on with it, brat."

"So, it's true, that I know that if you want you can beat me up anytime you'd like, which leaves a bit of fear there." Eren continued. "But, I also hold an admiration for you and Erwin and even Hanji. In all honesty, I'm actually kind of jealous." he looked down at his hands which were clenched in his lap. "You guys are strong and can speak your mind, even if it's in a bad way a lot of times... I think you guys are smart and bold and kind of cool, really. You have power that I could never possess, and unlike my friends, I find that admirable... I mean, it's not like I don't admire Armin and Marco, I wish I could be like them in some ways too, but I guess all I can do is watch. Even Jean can speak his mind more than I can. But, the admiration I hold for you two is different than how I feel about them." Eren glanced up and Levi to find his goofy grin turned into a smile. Not a smile like 'wow, that's dumb', but like he was actually happy. Pleased, really. "Um, Levi—"

"Dude, that's like, really cool." Levi stated. Eren felt his cheeks heat up just a bit, not expecting the comment. He was expecting something else. Not really an insult, but not a kind comment either. "Honestly, we always thought you were faking it, since you know, you're weak, but you're not half bad." he smirked a bit. "At least you're not as huge of a geek as Jean." Eren snickered without thinking. Jean was a pretty big geek, wasn't he?

"Honestly... Don't you think he kind of resembles a horse?" Eren says, not really thinking that much. Levi bursts out laughing and wipes at an imaginary tear.

"He does! He totally does!" Levi laughed some more then finally stopped, calming down and catching his breath. Eren found Levi surprisingly easy to talk to, once you get back to how he's kind of pushy. "Hey..." Levi started after he was completely calmed down.

"Yeah?" Eren responded. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he defiantly didn't expect what he said. "Sit with Hanji, Petra, Erwin, and me tomorrow at lunch." he said. It wasn;t a question. He was basically ordering him.

"W-w-what?!" Eren couldn;t hide the chock in his voice. One of the weakest kids in school, not to mention a sophomore, sit with one of the coolest and strongest boys in school? Not to mention their seniors. Two years his senior.

"Yeah, sit with us. It'll be cool." he grinned his usual lopsided grin.

"B-but Armin and Mikasa—" Eren started, only to be cut off by Levi.

"One day won't hurt." he shrugged. "Or is it that you're worried about what Armin, Marco, Jean, and Mikasa will think when you sit with their rivals?"

"W-well, I mean..." Eren couldn't lie. He was worried. But he thought Levi was nice and wanted to sit with him too. "I do want to sit with you guys, but—"

"Then sit with us." Eren swallowed, and hesitantly nodded his head. Levi grinned. "Good boy. Maybe you aren't a brat... At least not too big of one, anyway." he laughed and grabbed his bag. "See ya." and then he left.

Eren groaned and covered his eyes with his arm, one question running through his mind: Just what did I get myself into...?

* * *

 

The next day at lunch, Eren got to lunch before Armin and the rest. He got his lunch and slowly searched for Levi to see if he was already there. And sure enough, there he was, sitting his his usual group, waving his arm and yelling for Eren to get his arse over there, smiling like the goofball he is. As Eren was about to take a step, he noticed he was being stared at. He didn't want to, he _seriously_ didn't want to, but he looked anyways. 

As usual, the universe wasn't on his side.

As Levi called for him, Armin, Mikasa, Jean, and Marco gaped at him from the entrance, then looked back at Levi and his own group of friends. Armin was the first to call out.

"Eren, what the heck? You're not sitting with us?" his gaze switched to Levi's table. "To sit with  _them_?" Eren didn't know how to respond. As he spoke, he walked— well, more like stormed— over to Eren, the rest of his friends following after.

"I—" he started, but was cut off by Levi, again.

"Yeah, that a problem?" Levi asked, calling from across the lunch room that was slowly filling with students, a grin playing on his lips. "We're  _friends_ with Eren, got that?"

"Friends?! Don't say nonsense!" Marco snapped at him, earning a laugh from Levi. "As if Eren would be friends with you guys! Right, Eren?" he looked to Eren, as did the rest of his friends.

"W-well.. Um, y-yeah I am friends with Levi..." Eren started, rubbing the back of his neck.  _Universe, please explain kindly to me why you hate me._

" _What_? Since when?!" Marco, Armin, and Jean exclaimed simultaneously. 

"Umm, yesterday?" Eren tried his luck in being honest. They stared at him like he was the most unbelievable piece of crap ever.

"U-umm..." Mikasa started. For once, Mikasa decided to say something. Eren hoped she was at least on his side. He could usually count on her to defend him.

"It's, um, fine right?" she said, looking down and tugging nervously at her red scarf. "I-I mean, just because you're not friends doesn't mean Eren can't be friends with them, right?"

"Exactly! Listen to this sweetie!" Levi said,coming out of nowhere and throwing his arm around Eren in a friendly manner and grinning. Eren jumped a bit but didn't push him off. He wasn't sure if he even _could_ push him off. "Just cause _we_ ain't friends, doesn't mean that _Eren_ has to hate me too~!" he laughed again. A crowd was gathering. Oh no. This was the last thing that Eren wanted he hates attention being put on him! He could feel himself tense up, and Levi seemed to notice too. He looked around at the people, giving them a look that said 'Get lost'. Immediately, the crowd began to empty out. Eren eased a bit, sighing in relief. They heard Armin click his tongue.

"Fine, whatever." he said, crossing his arms. "Do what you will. Marco, Jean, Mikasa, let's go get our lunch." and they walked away as Levi guided Eren to his table, he looked back and Mikasa gave him a small smile. He looked away. He knew he'd be getting an interrogation later.

* * *

"Man, Eren your friends are pretty hard on you," Petra said, taking a sip from her soda. Levi had his arm around her and she leaned into him. Eren figured the rumors must be true about them dating. He fidgeted in his seat at her comment.

"Um, n-no not really..." he said, rubbing the back on his neck again. "They just don't get it. I mean, I think you guys are pretty cool, but they hate Levi and Erwin, I really don't have a clue of what they think about you or Hanji." she made a hum of recognition and sipped at her drink again, a bored expression on her face.

"I'm sure they'd understand if you just told them what you think." Hanji said. Another thing Eren liked about Hanji, she was serious and could always keep a cool head.

"Doubt it," Erwin scoffed. "With those hot-headed idiots and Jean they'll just think he's turned on him. Their stupid."

"Erwin, you may not like them, but their still Eren's friends," Hanji said, pinching his arm.

"Yeah, have some consideration," Petra agreed.

"N-no, it's fine... I understand the relationship they have with Armin and Marco," Eren said, putting his hands up and shaking them saying it's fine. "It's true that Armin and Marco are pretty hot-headed, but they're not so bad as to accuse me that much." 

The conversation went on and Eren started to wonder why the rest of them accepted him just like that. He knew he became friends (is that really the right word?) with Levi, but the others he'd never really talked to besides Hanji. And that was only when they exchanged apologies for the behavior of the boys. Maybe it's because Levi said they were friends? they decided that if Levi approved then it's fine? He didn't know but he decided to just be grateful.

"So, Eren," Levi started, drawing Eren back from his thoughts.

"Y-yes, Levi?" he tried to ignore the fact that he stuttered yet again.

"We're going to the mall this weekend. You in?" he grinned. The rest looked at him, waiting for an answer. Eren wasn't expecting that. Should he go? It's fine right? They weren't that bad... Go or stay?

"Umm... Y-yes. I'll go." Eren said, fiddling with his thumbs.

"Great, we'll pick you up in Erwin's car." Levi smiled. They started talking again and Eren stared down at his hands folded in his lap, still playing with his thumbs. This is okay... Right?

 

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my gosh 9 freaking pages?! I promise chapters of normal fanfics won't be this long! But like I said this was originally a one shot ^^;;; (Except a long second chapter too....)  
> Anyways, this is kind of stupid, sorry xo \But thank you thank you THANK YOU for reading!! Comment if you feel necessary! Leave a kudos maybe? Or not? Whatever if fine, really. Do or don't, I'm just grateful you read this. Teehee ^^;
> 
> On a side note, I don't really ship Annie x Eren or Annie x Reiner. I mentioned them, but please don't think I support them, because I don't.... Well, I kinda support Annie and Reiner, lol. Reiner x Krista is cute tho XD I talk a lot, sorry, KMN xP lol  
> Also, I hope you think it's good enough to keep reading! It'll probably end at chapter two but I'm not sure!! Please continue!! cx
> 
> On another side not, you might be confused as to why Levi, a senior, has the same lunch period as Eren, a sophomore. So, I guess I made it so that freshies sit with juniors and sophomores sit with seniors...? Idk. Lol. Sorry.


End file.
